put down, the queen was so afraid of another that she had the head of poor innocent Lady Jane Grey cut off, and sent her own sister Elizabeth a prisoner to the Tower. Soon after her marriage, the queen persuaded the parliament once more to acknowledge the pope's authority over the Church, and to make a law by which heretics who refused to accept his belief were to be burnt alive. The members of parliament, however, insisted that the lands which had been taken from the Church should remain the property of those who had possession of them. They were more careful about their own possessions than about the lives of their fellow-subjects.

7. The Protestant Martyrs.-Whilst lords and gentlemen were thinking more of money and land than of religion, there were Protestant martyrs who died as bravely for their faith as Sir Thomas More had died for his. Rowland Taylor, for instance, a Suffolk clergyman, was condemned in London to be burnt, and was sent down to his own county to die. As he left his prison, in the dark early morning, he found his wife and his children waiting for him in the streets. One of his daughters cried out, '0, my dear father! Mother, mother! here is my father led away!' There were no gas-lamps burning in the streets in those days, and his wife could not see him. Rowland, Rowland!' she called out. 'where art thou?' 'Dear wife,' he answered, '1 am here.' He was allowed to stop for a moment, and he knelt down with his family on the stones to say the Lord's Prayer. Farewell, my dear wife,' he said, as soon as he had risen from his knees; be

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He was

of good comfort, for I am quiet in my conscience God shall stir up a father for my children.' led away to the village in Suffolk where his voice had once been heard in the pulpit. Thanked be God,' he said, when he reached the place where the stake rose amidst the faggots which were to burn him, 'I am even at home.' After he was tied to the stake, a wretch threw a faggot at his face. '0, friend,' he said gently, 'I have harm enough, what needed that?' Light was set to the wood, the flames blazed up around the suffering body, and Rowland Taylor entered into his rest. Many another, as brave and as trustful, shared his fate. Amongst them two bishops, the meek Ridley, and Latimer, the bold preacher of righteousness, were burnt at Oxford. 'Be of good comfort, Master Ridley,' cried Latimer from amidst the flames. Play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.'

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8. The last Days of Mary.-Latimer spoke truly. Cranmer followed him to the stake at Oxford. The best and firmest of the Protestants were marked out for death. It availed nothing. Men turned against a religion which was protected by such means. Mary's government was as weak as it was harsh. To please her husband, Philip, she joined him in a war with France, and the French suddenly attacked Calais. She had left the place without proper means of defence, and the fortress which had been held by England since the days of Edward III. was lost for ever. Not long afterwards Mary died, worn out and dispirited. She knew that her sister

Elizabeth would succeed her, and that her sister would not burn Protestants. Mary's reign was the last in which the authority of the pope over the English Church was acknowledged by an English parliament.

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1. Elizabeth and the Nation.—When Elizabeth heard of her sister's death she was sitting under a tree in Hatfield Park. It is the Lord's doing,' she said: it is marvellous in our eyes.' She was to he Queen of England now, instead of being liable to be sent as a prisoner to the Tower, and perhaps to have her head cut off at last. Almost all Englishmen felt as if they too had been let out of prison. There were to be no more men and women burnt alive, nor were Englishmen to be sent abroad to fight for the King of Spain any longer. Elizabeth was determined that in her time foreigners should not meddle with the government of England. The King of

Spain and the King of France were both very powerful sovereigns, and each of them had large armies, whilst Elizabeth had no regular army at all. But she knew that as they hated one another more than they hated her, the King of France would never allow the King of Spain to conquer England, and that the King of Spain would never allow the King of France to conquer England. She therefore believed that she would be quite safe from either of them. She made peace with France, and attended to her own affairs.

2. Elizabeth and the Church.-It was more difficult for Elizabeth to know what to do about the Church. More than half the people would have been glad to have been allowed to go on worshipping like their fathers, in the way in which Roman Catholics do now. A small number of people would have liked the services of the English Church of the time of Edward VI. to be revived. A large number of people, who came to be called Puritans, would have been glad to worship as Protestants did on the Continent, very much in the way in which Dissenters do now. Elizabeth was afraid to let either the Roman Catholics or the Puritans have their way. She wanted to keep the peace, and she was quite sure that if either of these had all the churches, those who were not allowed to have the churches would try to get them by force. She did not think of letting both have churches to themselves, as is done now. She was afraid lest there should be quarrels amongst them, and she therefore wished that all men should worship in only one way, and

she hoped that they would learn to be friendly with one another, instead of persecuting one another. She found that Parliament was ready to agree with her in this, and so the Prayer Book which had been made at the end of the reign of Edward VI. was altered a little, and ordered to be used in all churches. No other sort of service was to be permitted anywhere. The bishops who had placed themselves under the Pope in Mary's time were deprived of their bishoprics, and new ones were consecrated. There was to be no inquiry to find out what men believed, or any attempt to punish them for believing either the Roman Catholic or any other doctrine. But the Queen expected that every one should go to church. 3. The Reformation in Scotland.-Elizabeth had a rival in Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was very beautiful and very clever. She had been married to the King of France. Whilst she was away, Scotland was ruled by her mother as Regent. A large number of the Scottish people turned Protestant, and insisted on putting an end to the Roman Catholic worship in Scotland, whilst the Scottish nobles wanted to seize the lands of the clergy for themselves. The Regent, to prevent this, sent for some French soldiers. Elizabeth, who was afraid lest, if the French soldiers conquered Scotland, they would try to conquer England too, sent an army to Scotland, and drove the French out. Soon after this the Regent died. Mary's husband died about the same time, and she came back as a young widow to rule in Scotland. Though she was herself a firm Roman Catholic, the Protestants were so many